China's Ramen

Everyone’s heard of Ramen noodles and knows that it’s a hit with college students that are needing a cheap filling meal or a midnight energy boost to finish a paper. But what you might not know about is Ramen’s big brother in China: Fang Bian Mian (in Chinese), translated “Convenient Noodles.”

They sure are convenient too. At any train station or at the end of any train car is a large container of hot water always ready to turn the next bowl of dried noodles into a hot, tasty, nothing but carb snack. On the many train rides I’ve had the chance to take in the last 10 months, it didn’t take me long to notice that whether its lunch, dinner, or even breakfast the food of choice is always Fang Bian Mian.

One of the most telling influences that Fang Bian Mian has on China is evident in its grocery stores. Filled from the top shelf to the ground on the better part of an aisle, the myriad of rainbow colors of all the different boxes is quite a sight.

The ready-to-eat variety usually packaged in paper bowls approximately the size of one very large, cereal bowl, is a noodle block usually enough for a whole meal. Coming in many different tastes (meat and vegetable flavors) and varieties (the purple one I had last time made me drink a liter of water), there’s always a new type to try. When opening Fang Bian Mian, the most surprising thing is probably the inclusion of a small fork, rather than chopsticks. Though initially a major shock to me, especially given the fact that forks are next to never available at restaurants, I realized that given the diameter of the bowl, the 3-pronged fork was the way to go. The image on the outside packaging is quite deceiving as there isn’t actually fresh meat or vegetable inside, but plenty of salty sauces, noodles, and artificial flavorings to keep anyone’s tastebuds on full alert.